Note expiry.
The clock on every note. Read or unread, when the time you chose runs out, the note is gone.
Note expiry is a time-to-live: each note carries a deadline from 1 hour to 30 days, and a sweep running every five minutes deletes anything past it.
What it is
View limits handle notes that get read; expiry handles notes that don't. A link that was never clicked shouldn't leave a secret parked on a server indefinitely — expiry guarantees the parking is temporary no matter what the recipient does.
Why it matters
It also makes the sender's promise honest: "this link dies Friday" is enforced by the server, not by hoping the recipient tidies up.
Related terms
Common questions.
Is expiry exact to the second?
The deadline is stored to the second and a cleanup sweep runs every five minutes, so a note may be deleted up to a few minutes after its exact deadline — never before it.
Which wins, views or expiry?
Whichever arrives first. A one-view note that gets read at minute ten doesn't wait for its deadline, and a hundred-view note nobody opens still dies on schedule.
Get BurnPony
Free self-destructing encrypted notes for iPhone. Recipients need only a browser. No accounts, no tracking.